Scott Brown: Mitch McConnell’s not the boss of me!

Republican Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) spent much of Monday night’s Massachusetts Senate debate – the second of four against challenger Elizabeth Warren – stressing his independent credentials and running away from his congressional bosses. Asked by debate moderator David Gregory if he would vote for Senator Mitch McConnnell (R-KY) to be majority leader in January if elected to a full term, Brown took a pass.

“I’ve already let it be very clearly known to Mitch McConnell that I’m completely disgusted as to what’s going on down there,” Brown said. “He has a lot of work to do to earn my vote because I don’t work for him or Harry Reid. That’s the beauty of being independent.”

At another moment in the debate, Brown bragged about voting “about 50 percent with my party and about 50 percent with the Democratic party.” According to the latest Boston Globe poll of likely Massachusetts voters, Brown trails Warren 43% to 38% with 18% still undecided. Among poll respondents, 20% said Brown was “heavily influenced” by the Republican Party, 41% thought he was “sometimes influenced” by the party and 33% said he “votes independently.”

On today’s show, Alex and the panel were joined by msnbc’s Luke Russert to discuss how the candidates are appealing to voters in this key Senate race.